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Interspace and rega arm question -- help

Hey,

(Same query on VA): I get more and more confused, and less and less confident. I am just about to send off a check for Nottingham Interspace. I will need to get a tonearm for it, and cannot afford anything beyond a fairly stock RB250 or 300 -- that can be upgraded later if I want to. The seller, upon query, says that he's not sure what needs to be done to get a Rega arm on it, and that he thinks the original dealer put some sort of collar inside of the box (for Rega arms)", but that, as he's never opened the box, he isn't sure.

I have been searching archives and talking largely at cross purposes with dealers and distributers all day and more. Some things I read and hear suggest that I might need a whole arm board, plus collar, others that whatever collar I get might take forever to acquire and/or not fit well. Yet other things seem to suggest that this is a competely trivial matter -- as simple a mounting job as there is, with no armboard question involved, the Interspace already fitted out to receive a rega arm or easily made so by a standard and easily acquired collar.

I do not want to have to fuss much with this, as I am no DIYer, and am straining the heck out of my budget to get this table anyway. On the other hand, if it is trivial, then I figure, based on some of what I hear, and ignoring what I don't want to hear, that this deck at $850 will be a great bargain, bounds better than the Horizon, which i must say i already like.

So what is the definitive answer, and lacking that, exactly what do I need to find out to get a definitive answer? What's involved in getting a stock rega arm onto an Interspace?

Or should I just get less ambitious and go for a Horizon fitted w/RB250, maybe even under warranty?

Pleaase help, and thanks.

Richard
rnm4
rnm4 OP
308 posts
 
Thanks, folks.

Looks like maybe the interspace and spacearm collars/collets are different, and the latter, but not the former, fit rega. We'll see.

Richard
listener57
730 posts
 
Richard, If you go for the classic Rega RB-300 tone arm, be sure to put onto your tweak "wish list" the F-2 Titanium Heavyweight Counterweight, from Gregory Kerry.
Lots of mention by me, and others, in past discussion threads. It further elevates the quality of your vinyl listening, at the modest list price of $129.
rnm4 OP
308 posts
 
Thanks for the input, Listened 57. I am currently trying to decide between a britaudio Moth 250 w/brass counterwight, Moth 300, Moth 250 incognito, or an OL1, etc, though the last two are probably too many $ for right now.

Thoughts?
listener57
730 posts
 
The Moth 300 (with incognito wire as a built-in standard upgrade) together with the Gregory Kerry $129 aftermarket counterweight might blend the best of two views about how to optimize this audiophile classic tone arm design.
I could not tell from your posting whether the incognito wire is automatically included in the Moth 300, or what else the standard Moth wiring might be, if not incognito.
I don't know if the special Moth counterweight options are able to achieve the very special quality of the Kerry design. But, the Kerry is stunning, compared to the standard counterweight.
Perhaps, another Audiogon member has more hands on experience with the Moth line, and knows which model represents the "sweet spot" in the Moth lineup.
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